Marginal nature is found in urban wastelands such as neglected creeks, wastewater treatment ponds, vacant lots, road and rail waysides, brownfields, fencerows, dumps, and alleyways. What emerges in this wastespace is the unintended product of human activity and nature's unflagging expressiveness, which I call Marginal Nature.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

CER Events May 2017

Austin Water Center for Environmental Research

Austin Water – The University of
Texas – Texas A&M University

A Partnership for Urban Ecology
and Sustainability: Community, Ecology, Research

Join Claude Morris and
the Travis County Colorado River Monitoring trip for a day on the river
monitoring birds and more, and help the Austin-Bastrop River Corridor
Partnership learn more about the ecology of the Colorado River.

Meet at the CER
parking lot at 8:00AM

A river trip to
monitor birds and vegetation along the river and you MUST provide your
own boat.

Center for
Environmental Research Lunchtime Lecture by Kevin M. Anderson

2017 Lunchtime
Lectures – Understanding Urban Nature: Ecology, Culture, and the American City

May 2017 Lunchtime Lecture - Nature in the
City: Urban Habitats and the Degradation Myth

Since the 19th century, books about urban
natural history have documented the richness of habitats and diversity of
species to be found in American cities. However, traditionally in America,
biologists and ecologists study nature in “wildlands” and so view urban nature
as degraded and disturbed in comparison. Urban nature worthy of professional
study and protection is whatever remnant habitats remain from before the city
was built, and the rest is a problem to correct. However, in recent decades,
the rapid growth of urban ecology in America has begun to rewrite this
simplistic degradation myth into a more complex story of urban biodiversity
across a wide range of urban habitats and to rediscover historical books of
urban natural history that add more texture to the story. Join us for a
lecture about the past, present, and future of urban natural history.

The HBBO Bird Survey
is open to all levels of birder interested in intensive monitoring, although
this is not a field trip. In the morning, we have teams covering
different areas of the Hornsby Bend facility, and they count numbers of all
birds seen. It is 4 hours of hiking and counting, but lots of fun along the
way. We meet again around 11am to tally up the species. The afternoon
involves looking around for species missed that morning, and we go until
sundown. More information about the CER HBBO program at www.hornsbybend.org

May
16
Tuesday NOON to 1pm at the Center for Environmental Research – Hornsby Bend

Center for
Environmental Research Lunchtime Lecture by Kevin M. Anderson

2017 Lunchtime
Lectures – Understanding Urban Nature: Ecology, Culture, and the American City

May 2017 Lunchtime Lecture - Nature in the
City: Urban Habitats and the Degradation Myth

Since the 19th century, books about urban
natural history have documented the richness of habitats and diversity of
species to be found in American cities. However, traditionally in America,
biologists and ecologists study nature in “wildlands” and so view urban nature
as degraded and disturbed in comparison. Urban nature worthy of professional
study and protection is whatever remnant habitats remain from before the city
was built, and the rest is a problem to correct. However, in recent decades,
the rapid growth of urban ecology in America has begun to rewrite this
simplistic degradation myth into a more complex story of urban biodiversity
across a wide range of urban habitats and to rediscover historical books of
urban natural history that add more texture to the story. Join us for a
lecture about the past, present, and future of urban natural history.

May
18 Thursday NOON to 1pm at One Texas Center 505 Barton Springs Road + South
First Street, Room 325

Center for
Environmental Research Lunchtime Lecture by Kevin M. Anderson

2016 Lunchtime
Lectures – The Unity of Nature: The Creation, Discovery, and End of Nature

May 2017 Lunchtime Lecture - Nature in the
City: Urban Habitats and the Degradation Myth

Since the 19th century, books about urban
natural history have documented the richness of habitats and diversity of
species to be found in American cities. However, traditionally in America,
biologists and ecologists study nature in “wildlands” and so view urban nature
as degraded and disturbed in comparison. Urban nature worthy of professional
study and protection is whatever remnant habitats remain from before the city
was built, and the rest is a problem to correct. However, in recent decades,
the rapid growth of urban ecology in America has begun to rewrite this
simplistic degradation myth into a more complex story of urban biodiversity
across a wide range of urban habitats and to rediscover historical books of
urban natural history that add more texture to the story. Join us for a
lecture about the past, present, and future of urban natural history.

Meet at the CER 730am,
no registration needed – all levels of birder welcomed, an easy morning of
walking and learning the birds of Hornsby Bend. Bring binoculars and some water
if the weather is warm. More information at www.travisaudubon.org and www.hornsbybend.org

May
27
Saturday 9am – 1pm at the CER

Ecological Literacy
Volunteer Day – Help maintain Hornsby
Bend! Did you know that all the Hornsby Bend trails, habitat gardens, and kiosks
were built and are maintained by volunteers? If you enjoy birding or walking
along the Colorado River here, please join us in maintaining these amenities
and supporting public access at Hornsby Bend.

Wear work clothes
[long pants], hat for shade, and sturdy shoes; bring water and binoculars if
interested in birds.

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About Me

Kevin M. Anderson is a geographer and philosopher who is the coordinator of the AWU - Center for Environmental Research. Kevin has studied at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania [BA], Durham University, England, Ohio University [MA] where he taught philosophy and symbolic logic for several years. He received his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin with a dissertation entitled: Marginal Nature: Urban Wastelands and the Geography of Nature. His environmental career began on a Pennsylvania farm raising chickens, pigs, and purebred Black Angus cattle, and it has since ranged from running an organic farm in Potomac, Maryland to starting a river conservation foundation in Northeastern Hungary as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He is a co-founder and president of the Texas Riparian Association.